Mary Mulae

I love Anne Tyler’s writing, but this was not one of them. Storylines that went nowhere and characters that were just plain uninteresting. When major characters passed away, it seemed of no import to the other characters in the book and most certainly not the reader. Worse yet, new seemingly consequential details that came up were completely unresolved. What was the expression on David’s father‘s face when David started drowning in the water? Why did grandma Mercy (ha!) rid herself of the cat she seemed to be bonding with as soon as she learned the owners weren’t coming back? Who were the unidentified people in the black and white photo album at the end of the book and why was it even mentioned if it wasn’t going to be somehow related to the rest of the story? And had to think hard about who John was – a character not added to almost the end of the book. Just too many tangents that went nowhere. Not a satisfying book if that’s what you’re looking for.